If, like me, you still have a big spot a big soft spot for 3dfx, and fondly recall playing Quake II and Jedi Knight, then get a load of this new custom 3dfx Voodoo card. The new VoodooX 4900 is based on the VSA-100 (codenamed Napalm) chip that fueled the last generation of 3dfx cards at the turn of the Millennium, but with a brand new card design and digital outputs.
3dfx is a name synonymous with PC retro tech, with its 3D accelerators such as the 3dfx Voodoo 2 making games look way better, and run significantly faster, than with software rendering on the CPU in the early days of 3D gaming. The last gasp for Voodoo came with the release of the Voodoo4 4500 and Voodoo5 5500, which were based on the VSA-100 chip, which also powers this new custom graphics card.
Made by 3dfx enthusiast Oscar Barea, the new VoodooX 4900 has a similar spec to the original Voodoo4 4500, with a single VSA-100 chip. However, unlike the Voodoo4 4500, it has a 64MB frame buffer, rather than 32MB, with a switch to make it run with just 32MB of VRAM if you need it. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Barea also notes that “it also would be possible select 16MB or even 8MB,” on the card, but that there would be no sense to it.
Unlike the Voodoo4 4500, the VoodooX 4900 also has digital outputs, with both DVI and HDMI options on the backplate, meaning you could plug this card into one of today’s gaming monitors.
When it was released, the Voodoo4 4500 only had a single analog VGA D-SUB output, which was a limitation even at the time, as you could readily buy Nvidia GeForce 256 and ATi Radeon cards with DVI outputs. “DVI has a crispy and clear image quality” on the new Voodoo card, says Barea on X, “even colors looks [sic] much better.” He also notes that the “HDMI output works perfectly.”
Barea has shared several photos of the card up and running, where it’s shown playing a few games, including Quake 3: Arena. People have already started asking if the cards are ever going to be on sale too, with Barea explaining that “I need to be 100% sure the card is working at least equal than an original Voodoo4,” a feat that Barea describes as “very hard.”
Barea is a big fan of 3dfx, and also runs the 3dfx Museum website, which includes an unreleased 3dfx Voodoo5 6000 in its collection. With four VSA-100 chips and a massive 128MB of memory, this monster card needed an external power supply, and ended up never making it to market, although a few early samples exist. However, much like Barea’s work, it’s been recreated with a custom PCB by Anthony Zxclxiv, who calls his new remade 3dfx Voodoo5 6000 card the Napalm 6000 SUX.
I love the fact that there’s still so much love for 3dfx among PC hardware modders. I still have the 3dfx Voodoo5 5500 card that I used back in the day, and even now feel a little sad that we never got to see the Rampage generation that was due to come after it.
If you’re looking for a graphics card that can handle the demands of today’s games, though, make sure you read our guide to the best graphics card, where we take you through all the best options available right now.